Wrench



L. BENOIT.

WRENCH- APPLICATION FILED FEB. 15, 1919 1,355,883. Patented 0ct.19,1920.

mm Zore Berle/Z5 t-Sv a v UNITED STAT o aron. r vAN'con R. *BRITISE CQLUMBIA, CANADA? WRENCH.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Liior BENOIT, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and a resident of the city of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wrenches, of which the following is a specification.

invention relates to improvements in wrenches, and theobject of my invention is to devise a wrench provided with a sliding jaw capable of automatic locking when applied. to a nut to turn the same, or other analogous purposes, and which is characterized by the simplicity of its parts and its direct action while possessing great strength besides being cheapto manur"acture.

I attain this object by the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which-(- Figure 1 is an outside elevation of the wrench. I

Fig.2 is an elevation, in part section.

Fig, 3 is a cross section taken on the line 55 of Fig. 2.

Similar figures of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views.

It may be here stated that the construction of the automatic locking jaw hereinafter described may be applied to all wrenches having sliding jaws, and particularly to those pressure-operated, but for the purpose of illustration a wrench .having asimple straight shank 1 and rigid upper jaw 2 is shown.

Mounted on the shank 1 for vertical slidable movement thereon indicated generally by the numeral 3 and consisting of a plate 4 doubled over to embrace the rear edge of the shank to form side plates 5 and 6 which side plates provide a support for the rocking jaw member 7, which is hung between the plates on a pivot 8, this pivot extending through a slotted hole 9 in the jaw into both plates 5 and 6, from which it will be seen that the jaw, while being capable of a swinging movement, is also capable of lateral movement at its upper end. Adjacent the'pivot hole 9 the rear edge of the jaw is preferably rounded, or otherwise suitably shaped as at 10, the rounded portion normally engaging a correspondingly shaped seat 11 formed on the plate 4, as shown in Fig. 2, while on its opposite edge the jaw is flattened, as at 12, so that it may seat firmly, when moved later- Specification of Letters Patent.

is the sliding jaw,

Patented Oct. 19, 1920.

l Application filed. February 15, 1919. Serial ,No. 2 77,331.

ally outward, on the closure. 13 extending between the plates 5 and 6, which closure may be formed by turning one of the plates at right angles to bridge the space between the plates. The jaw 7 is mounted so that lts upper edge is normally" inclined upwardly from itsp'oint of nii otalconnection so that it isdepressible when the wrench is placed on a nut, the closure 13, being cut away, as at 14, to allow for such depression, and the jaw is maintained in normal position by means of a spring 15 one end-of which is inserted in a slot .16 in the jaw body while its opposite end engages a pin 17 secured into the plates 5 and 6. 'The rear edge of the jaw 7 is provided with teeth 18 adapted to engage teeth 19 formed on the front edge of the shank 1 when the jaw is looked, as

hereinafter described, and on both sides the shank is reinforced by strips, 20 and 21, which maybe formed integrally with the shank or built on thereto and which serve not only to stiffen it but also to form guides forthe plate 4. which iscrimped in, as'at'22 in Fig. 3,to conform'to the. cross sectional shank formation.

As it issometimes desirable to maintain the jaw 7 in its locked position, a lock is pro. vided en stinla c W1 3 u eru e on a pin 24, the inner end of which pawl is normally clear of the jaw 7 but which when the jaw is locked, that is, when the jaw teeth 18 are in engagement with the shank teeth' 19, may be swung upwardly to engage the front edge of the jaw, which is formed straight, as at2 25, to receive the inner end of thepawlf'ln the' locking position the outer end of the pawl projects below the plates 4 and 5 so that when it is desired to unlock the aw the inner end may be depressed and removed clear of the same by upward pressure on the said outer end, and in order to maintain the pawl in either its locking or unlocked positions it is provided with a spring member 26 having a ball shaped projection 27 adapted to engage, shaped depressions 28 and 29 formed in t e closure 13, as shown in Fig. 2, the projection 27 engaging depression pawl is unlocked and depression 29 when it is in the position locking the jaw 7 to the shank.

The manner in which the device operates will be readily apparent, on reference being had to Fig. 2, particularly as it will be seen as the case may be, cu

28 when the pressed, causing the jaw to swing on the pivot 8 and carry its teeth 18 into engagement with the shank teeth 19, thus locking the sliding jaw 3 againstretraction, and if it is desired to lock the jaw 7 against disengagement, the pawl 23is swung into position, as already described. The strain of turning the. nut'tends vto create both an outward and an inward lateral movement of the jaw 7 at its upper end according to the respective direction of rotation of the wrench, the pressure of which movements, on account of the slotting ef-the hole 9 is taken up respectively by the closure 13 and the seat 11 so that all strain is taken off the pivot 8 entirely, thus utilizing fully the whole strength of the plate of which the jaw member 7 is formed.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have devised a simply constructed, inexpensive and strong direct-acting automatic locking wrench. V

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A wrench comprising a toothed shank having a rigid jaw, a yoke member slidable thereon provided with a pivot, a jaw member consisting of a plate having a slotted hole through which said pivot extends whereby said plate is supported for swinging or inward or outward lateral movement, the upper edge of said plate extending above the yoke and being inclined. outwardly and upwardly and its rear edge being provided with teeth adapted to cooperate with the shank teeth when swung inwardly to lock the jaw against retraction,

when the same is under turning pressure.

r 2. A wrench comprising a toothed shank having a rigid jaw, a yoke member slidable thereon provided with a pivot, a jaw member consisting of a plate having a slotted -liole through which said pivot extends whereby said plate is supported for swing ing or inward or outward lateral movement, the upper edge of said plate extending above the yoke and being inclined outwardly and upwardly and its rear edge being provided with teeth adapted to cooperate with the shank teeth when swung inwardly to lock the jaw against retraction, and means excluding the pivot for taking up the outward lateral strain on the jaw when the same is under turning pressure.

3. A wrench comprising a toothed shank having a rigid jaw, a pivot carrying yoke member slidable on said shank, a jaw memher supported on said pivot for swinging in inward and outward'lateral movement, the

upper edge of said jaw member extending I above the yoke, and the rear edge thereof being provided with teeth adapted to interlock with the shank teeth when swung inwardly to secure the jaw against retraction, means carried by the yoke for locking said jaw against accidental disengagement from the shank, and -means for retaining said last-mentioned means either in an operative or an inoperative'position.

Dated at Vancouver, B. C. this l6th'day of January; 1919. 3

LEON VBENOIIV. 

